Player Updates

First-year Nationals manager Davey Martinez said earlier in the offseason that he intends to deploy Kintzler as the team's primary seventh-inning man in 2018, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Martinez plans to follow the late-inning model that former Washington manager Dusty Baker used to great success in the second half of the 2017 campaign, with Kintzler, Ryan Madson and closer Sean Doolittle set to work in succession when the Nationals are attempting to preserve narrow leads. Upon losing out on saves when he was dealt from the Twins to the Nationals last July, Kintzler's fantasy utility all but evaporated. He supplied a 3.46 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 26 innings with Washington over the final two months of the season, numbers that didn't make him a useful commodity outside of NL-only leagues that count holds as a category.

Kintzler agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with Washington, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The contract also contains an unspecified club option that could make the contract worth $16 million, according to the report. Kintzler will return to the Nationals in a setup role working ahead of Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle as he did last season. Kintzler had 28 saves with the Twins before he was traded to the Nationals at the end of July. He had just one save in Washington and his return to the Nationals likely limits his fantasy value since he'll rarely be used to close games.

Kintzler worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless inning of work to earn his 29th save of the season Sunday against the Mets.

Kintzler, who was called upon with a one-run lead, put the winning run at first with one out. He buckled down to retire the next two men, ending the danger and closing out the win. Kintzler was called upon after Sean Doolittle labored in an appearance Saturday and could see another save opportunity or two as the club manages its bullpen arms over the season's final week.

Kintzler blew his first save Thursday against the Astros as he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning.

Manager Dusty Baker has suggested that he would like to use Kintzler in save situations when Sean Doolittle is unavailable in part to help Kintzler reach the 30 save milestone. The spirit is admirable, but Kintzler was unable to capitalize on it Thursday night, as he turned a 3-1 lead into a 3-3 tie. The Nationals managed to come back and win in 11, and Kintzler still has a fine 2.25 ERA since the trade, so don't expect this rough outing to keep Baker away from using Kintzler in high-leverage situations.

Kintzler may see a couple of save chances for Washington before the end of the season, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.

Since the team revamped its bullpen at the trade deadline, Kintzler has been working the seventh inning ahead of Ryan Madson and closer Sean Doolittle. However, manager Dusty Baker suggested Friday that Kintzler would be his choice to close should Doolittle be unavailable at some point, as much due to a pending personal milestone for the former Twin as his performance. "When Doolittle is not available to close, I'd like to get Kintzler... two more saves for 30," Baker said. "So I plan on getting that before the year ends." Doolittle remains the primary target in Washington for fantasy GMs looking for saves, but Kintzler may not be completely out of the picture either.